2015 STEM Innovation Grants

The USG Complete College Georgia Innovation grants provide early stage funding and support for institutions to initiate and implement high-impact projects aligned with the goals of Complete College Georgia. The purpose of the Innovation grants is two-fold: to explore areas of promising practice and scale-up proven, successful practices.

This CCG Innovation Grant RFP will focus on improvements in STEM core courses leading to improved student learning and achievement. Successful proposals will address at least one of the following prioritized areas:

Flexible pathways towards college completion that include online and in-person experiences

Open Educational Resources (OERS) to reduce the costs of course materials for students

High impact strategies, including:

STEM pathways and meta majors

Structured scheduling for students (cohort classes)

Supplemental Instruction

Peer Mentoring Study Groups

Grant awards will be made in amounts up to $25,000. All USG institutions are eligible and encouraged to submit proposals.

Funding is available for two categories of projects:

INCUBATE: The projects in this category are in a “start up” phase and are focused on innovative practices that will have a high impact on student progress and completion in STEM courses and majors. While these projects are novel in implementation, they should demonstrate transformative potential. Evidence that the project has significant impact on college completion is essential.

REPLICATE: The projects in this category leverage an existing high impact project by expanding the scope of the project to a new institution, subject area or other creative change in scope. Successful applicants will be able to demonstrate that the initial project had success in increasing student achievement and completion. Projects can replicate either USG projects or recognized national best practices or projects. These projects should include an explanation of how the project is suitable for implementation at the institution. The proposal must include evidence that the proposing institution has connected with the institution/organization whose project will be replicated and has established a point of contact to assist in successful implementation.

The types of projects that will be considered for replication are those that have proven to be successful and use high impact strategies for STEM or can be replicated in STEM disciplines. There should be significant tangible evidence demonstrating this project either led directly to an increase in college completion or led indirectly to an increase in intermediate measures of college completion (such as retention, course performance, cost to students, etc.). Projects with inconclusive results or those that led to changes in factors not necessarily connected to college completion will not be considered.

Projects proposed in either category should fall into the prioritized areas noted in the overview. Furthermore, proposed projects must demonstrate an ability to be:

SUSTAINABLE: The CCG Innovation grants are one-time awards. Therefore, it is important that the project can be sustained after the funding period ends.

TRANSFORMATIVE: The project can potentially have a significant impact on a substantial proportion of the students in STEM core classes at the institution.

SCALABLE: The project has the ability to be scaled up to other USG institutions.